Thursday, July 26, 2012

paronymous \puh-RON-uh-muhs\, adjective:

• Containing the same root or stem, as the words wise and wisdom.

Paronymous stems from the Greek roots para- meaning "beside" and onoma meaning "a name."

olympics, n.

• Loose assemblage of activities undertaken quadrennially by over-ripped folk with an odd view of life and difficulty prioritising. Small trinkets on coloured ribbons and needlessly ostentatious flower arrangements are commonly given to several of the better entrants as stirring tunes play. Flags and advertising signage tend to be prominently displayed and portly men in suits shuffle about needlessly.

I couldn't sleep yesterday so I flicked on the olympics and caught some women's arm wrestling; it looked like the 85kg class. I think a Bulgarian won. Then there was rhythmic gymnastics. I swear to God. Rhythmic gymnastics.
Trivia

What talk-show host had a replica of the presidential suite in Paris’s posh George V Hotel built for his houseguests?

• Conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh, at his palatial beachfront home in Palm Beach, Florida.

History

• Lionel Nathan Rothschild: became the first Jew to sit in the British Parliament — 11 years after he was elected; the House of Commons had to allow a special oath (1858)
• Unua Libro: the "First Book" of Esperanto was published, by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof (1887)
• National Security Act: was signed by US President Harry S Truman; it created the Department of Defense, National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, and Joint Chiefs of Staff (1947)
• Suez Canal: was nationalized by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, leading to an international crisis (1956)
• Jimmy Hoffa: Teamsters union head was convicted of fraud and conspiracy (1964)

Birthdays

• George Catlin 1796
• George Bernard Shaw 1856
• Carl Jung 1875
• Aldous Huxley 1894
• Gracie Allen 1906
• Vivian Vance 1912
• Erskine Hawkins 1914
• Marjorie Lord 1921
• Blake Edwards 1922
• Jason Robards, Jr. 1922
• Hoyt Wilhelm 1923
• Louie Bellson (Duke Ellington Band) 1924
• James Best 1926
• Stanley Kubrick 1928
• Bobby Lilly 1939
• Bobby Rousseau 1940
• Bobby Hebb 1941
• Dobie Gray 1943
• Peter Hyams 1943
• Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones) 1943
  
• Keil Martin 1944
• Mickei King 1944
• Helen Mirren 1946
• Roger Taylor (Queen) 1949
• Susan George 1950
• Duncan Mackey 1950
• Dorothy Hamill 1956
• Kevin Spacey 1959
• Gary Cherone (Extreme, Van Halen) 1961
• Sandra Bullock 1964
• Jeremy Piven 1965
• Jennifer Ashe 1966
• Kate Beckinsale 1973
• Derek Jeter 1974
• Taylor Momsen 1993